Steamboat drops match against Loveland

Steamboat Springs  Singles victories from Patrick Ayers and Andrew Krueger were not enough to propel the Steamboat Springs boys tennis team to a victory over Loveland Thursday night.

Ayers defeated Carl Tarango, 6-3, 6-3 in the No. 2 singles match, while Krueger handed Corey Bernard a 6-2, 6-4 defeat in the No. 3 singles match. They were the only victories the Sailors recorded, dropping a 5-2 team decision to the Indians in Loveland.

"Patrick and Andrew played very well," Steamboat coach John Aragon said. "They worked hard. It was probably the best match I've seen Andrew play all season. I was pleased to see him as a senior step up. Patrick did what he had to do. He kept the ball on the court and that led to victory. As a team we didn't have it and we should beat a team like Loveland."

In the other singles match, Steamboat's No. 1 player, Jonathan Solomon, dropped the first set to Sean Havser, 6-0, before rallying in the second, only to fall in the tiebreaker 7-5, losing the set 7-6.

As Steamboat gets set to play in this weekend's Loveland Tournament, Aragon said his team will need to concentrate on a higher first-serve percentage and eliminating excessive double faults. Overall, he said some of his players had opportunities to win sets and matches but were unable to maintain consistency.

Pool play in the two-day tournament begins today. Steamboat will square off against Mountain View, Windsor and Fort Collins.

The winner from that pool advances to play the winner of Pool 1 in Saturday's finals.